【 GANDO 】

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Heavy clouds gradually blanketed the sky, and more and more grotesque figures crawled onto the shore.

On the coastline of Milova, at the gaps where the defensive barrier could not cover, the Frost Elves chanted hymns of praise to the goddess as they fought the demons.

They advanced without hesitation, fearless and resolute.

At this moment, they had once again recalled the memories of battling demons within the Abyss.

Faced with the surging invasion of the demonic army, the Frost Elves who had taken up their weapons once more transformed into the most tenacious of warriors.

Even the elves from other clans in Mirovia, upon witnessing their valiant struggle, could not help but feel their blood stir, joining the battle one after another.

The elder elf Gando stood at the very front, guarding the breach by himself.

He wielded his massive staff, his body radiating brilliance, while striking down one demon after another that attempted to charge forward.

The power of a peak golden-rank expert erupted in full, making him appear like a war god.

Despite being a druid, his unparalleled melee skills, honed in the Wasteland of Desolation, gave him a uniquely ferocious presence.

At his feet lay the corpses of numerous demons, his robe soaked in dark red blood. Whether it belonged to the demons or to himself was no longer clear.

Gando himself, however, only grew more valiant with each passing moment, his gaze firm and unyielding.

“My fellow brethren! Hold these vile creatures outside the barrier! For our homeland, for the loved ones behind us, kill!”

He raised his staff and roared.

“Kill!”

The other Frost Elves echoed his cry, cutting down the demons that are charging forward.

Such overwhelming momentum caused even the advancing demons to falter in fear, allowing the elves to seize the opportunity to strike them down.

Despite more and more demons arriving upon the shore, and the earlier tsunami had already pushed the city’s defensive barrier to the brink of collapse, the coastal city of Mirovia had transformed into an unyielding fortress, standing firm against the tide-like assault of the demonic army at this very moment.

With another roar, Gando smashed down yet another demon attempting to enter into the city, then turned his gaze beyond the walls.

The frigid sea wind howled, tossing his hair and beard into disarray, while his expression grew increasingly grave.

There were simply too many…

Far too many invading demons!

As far as his eyes could see, from the nearby beach to the distant edge of the coastline, demons were everywhere.

Such numbers rivaled the massive Black Tides of the Abyss.

However, unlike those tides composed largely of lesser demons and abyssal creatures of limited intelligence, the demonic army before them was far more formidable.

Casualties had already begun to mount among the elves with many of the Frost Elves who had initially followed Gando to defend the city had already fallen.

Seeing his fellow kin collapse in exhaustion under the demons’ onslaught, Gando’s eyes turned bloodshot.

Alas, the intensity of the battle left him no time to grieve.

All he could do was stand at the largest breach, intercepting the demon that others could not withstand.

The strength of a peak Golden-rank expert was, even among demons, something to be regarded with awe.

Standing atop a mound of demon corpses, his back against shattered ruins, Gando remained upright and unyielding.

His imposing figure instilled even the attacking demons with a trace of fear.

For a brief moment, none dared charge at him.

Until a disturbance arose among the demons.

The fully armed sea demons parted to either side with reverence, opening a path.

Then, a demon nearly four meters tall appeared before Gando.

Seeing the finely crafted armor and sensing the overwhelming aura emanating from it, the old elf’s expression immediately darkened.

“Legendary-rank…”

His gaze turned solemn.

A Demon King.

The one standing before him was a demon whose power had reached the Legendary-rank.

The sea-monster-like Demon King looked Gando up and down with interest, a hint of mockery flickering across its grotesque face.

Then, to Gando’s surprise, it tossed its weapon to a subordinate, placed one hand behind its back, and extended the other, curling its fingers in a beckoning gesture.

Gando immediately understood.

It was challenging him into a duel.

The opponent intended to fight him one-on-one, using only a single hand, without a weapon.

Gando’s expression sharpened, then he let out a cold laugh.

“A duel? Heh, perfect. I have lived this long, yet I have never fought a Legendary-rank demon.”

His expression suddenly turned fierce.

“Today, I will see for myself what the power of a Legendary expert truly is!”

With that, Gando roared, magical light flaring around him as he swung his staff and charged toward the Demon King.

The two clashed instantly.

Though the battle of high-ranking experts could not rival the world-shaking scale of mythical beings, one was a peak Golden-ranker on the verge of being promoted to Legendary-rank, while the other was a Legendary-rank demon who had begun to grasp the power of a domain.

The shockwaves produced by their clash were terrifying.

For a time, the duel between Gando and the Demon King had became the main focal point of the entire coastal battlefield.

Gando swung his staff repeatedly, magical light flashing with each strike, while vines burst from the ground, coiling toward the Demon King.

These were his instant-cast druid spells.

For a moment, the one-handed Demon King was forced onto the defensive, retreating under the old priest’s relentless attack.

However, a Legendary-rank being was still Legendary.

At the instant Gando’s barrage came to an end, a trace of mockery flashed in the Demon King’s eyes as it seized his staff in one hand.

Gando was horrified as he exerted all his strength, only to find that he could not move it at all.

Then, with a casual motion, the Demon King flicked his arm.

Gando felt an irresistible force surge through his staff, and he was flung backward along with it, before crashing into the wall behind him.

Only after smashing a large hole through it did he come to a stop.

Pain surged through his body. Gando slid to the ground and could not help but spit out a mouthful of blood.

His face turned pale, and he faintly sensed that several of his ribs had been broken.

“Lord Gando!”

From behind him came the anxious shouts of the other Frost Elves.

“I am fine…”

Gando forced the words out through clenched teeth, then used his staff to support himself up as he struggled back to his feet.

The Demon King remained where he stood, his gaze filled with mockery.

At this moment, though unwilling to accept it, Gando had no choice but to acknowledge the truth. Between Gold and Legendary rank, there existed an insurmountable gap. Aside from exceptional races such as dragons, few could ever hope to challenge someone of the higher rank.

Even so, Gando continued to fight.

He had to buy time.

He had to endure for as long as possible.

The defensive barrier of Mirovia wasn’t at its full capacity, as the city had never expected to face an invasion.

However, other cities within the Elven Forest possessed superior defensive barriers.

As soon as the battle began, the Frost Elves had already dispatched messengers to the Chosen City, requesting reinforcements and a new holy statue.

By now, it was very likely that the new statue had already been delivered to the temple.

So as long as they could hold out until the new holy statue was enshrined, even a Legendary, or perhaps even a Mythical-rank being, would be halted for a time.

With this thought, a trace of resolve flashed in Gando’s eyes.

He struggled to his feet and began to chant.

Pale green light gathered around his body, and his wounds rapidly began to heal.

Yet as his injuries recovered, his hair grew increasingly white, and the wrinkles on his face deepened.

[Lifeforce Healing]

This was a divine spell capable of instantly restoring even the gravest injuries but the cost was the consumption of one’s own life force.

In that instant, Gando seemed to age decades.

Yet his gaze remained bright.

With a furious roar, he charged once more at the Demon King.

A flicker of surprise passed through the Demon King’s eyes.

He casually extended his hand, seized Gando’s staff once again, and hurled the old elf away.

With a thunderous crash, Gando shattered another section of wall, sending dust billowing into the air.

Yet before long, he rose again.

“Again!”

With a shout, he charged once more toward the Demon King.

Attack after attack despite falling and falling.

Gando no longer knew how long he had endured.

By this point, he could no longer muster even a trace of magic.

The surrounding where they clashed had been reduced to complete ruin. Trembling, Gando pushed himself up from the ground with his cracked staff.

His staff was broken, his hair and beard completely white, and the wrinkles on his face carved deep like chiseled lines.

He had reached the end of his strength.

Yet the way he looked at the Demon King had not changed.

With great difficulty, he raised his staff and pointed it forward, his hand trembling.

“A-Again…”

At last, the Demon King’s expression shifted slightly.

It looked down at the old elf from above, its expression unreadable.

“Elf…what’s your name.”

It suddenly spoke in Seigües common language, the Demon’s voice hoarse and low.

Gando lifted his head, his gaze steady and fearless.

“Gando… Gando Azurefrost.”

“Gando…Azurefrost.”

The Demon King let out a low chuckle.

“I shall remember it.”

Then it slowly raised its hand.

“My name is—Toskar.”

As its words fell, a dark violet radiance erupted from the Demon’s body.

In the next moment, a looming shadow fell over an area spanning several hundred meters.

A domain.

At that moment, the Legendary-rank Demon King unleashed its domain.

Cold and malevolent.

Sensing the sudden surge of power from his opponent, and feeling the increasingly oppressive force constricting the surrounding space, Gando’s mind instead grew calm.

At this moment, only a single thought remained in his heart:

So… this is the domain of a Legendary expert.

The Demon King stepped forward and began to walk toward Gando.

Within its domain, Gando had completely lost control of his own body.

As he felt the overwhelming and despair-inducing power of his opponent, he let out a quiet sigh.

It is over…

He had already done everything he could.

The Demon King stepped before the old elf, reached out, and lifted him effortlessly, gripping him by the throat.

A suffocating pressure surged like a tide and Gando’s consciousness began to fade.

In that haze, fragments of his past flashed rapidly through his mind.

He saw himself as a child, hunting monsters alongside his father.

He saw his coming of age, receiving the blessing of Lady Aurora and becoming a devout priest of nature.

He saw the years after he became High Priest, leading his people through hardship upon the Wasteland of Desolation.

Then he saw the time where he met the Chosen One, Cypher, and together led the Azurefrost clan in migration, fighting upon the Cliff of Sorrow.

And at long last, he saw the moment they finally returned to the world of Segus, attending the Harvest Festival, standing upon a hillside with Cypher, watching the sunrise and sunset over the sea, chatting and drinking with other chosen ones in his tavern, laughing freely.

All of it, in the end, dissolved into a brilliant radiance.

Faintly, he seemed to see the Goddess of Life smiling at him.

Ah…

So this is how it ends…

Am I about to return to the embrace of the Goddess?

A sense of quiet resignation filled his heart. His hands slackened as he abandoned his final resistance.

Yet, as his consciousness dimmed, a voice seemed to echo deep within him:

Are you content?

Gando Azurefrost, are you truly content with this outcome?

Content…

He let out a silent sigh.

How could I be?

He had yet to see the granddaughter of his departed friend, the gentle and lovely girl Estelle, come of age.

He had yet to fulfill his promise to pass on all his skills to Nana, the Chosen One who had only recently become his disciple through Cypher’s introduction.

He had yet to brew the finest elven flower tea in the entire Elven Forest, and give it as an offering to the Goddess.

How could he possibly be content?

No…

He was not.

The familiar faces flashed through his mind, and the unwillingness in his heart grew ever stronger.

—No.

I cannot fall here.

The war is not yet over!

Countless of my people stand behind me.

So how could I die here?

There are many promises he had yet fulfilled, regrets that remained unresolved to this day.

How can I give up so easily?

No…

Never!

Gradually, it felt as though a light ignited within his heart. It swiftly transformed into a blazing flame, burning fiercely within his chest.

In that instant, a memory surfaced, the oath he had sworn before the statue of the Goddess when he first became High Priest:

“My name is Gando Azurefrost…”

“From this moment onward, all that I am belongs to the great Divine Matriarch, and to the Azurefrost Clan.”

“From this moment onward, I shall know neither fear nor hesitation. I will lead my people through the darkness in search of the light.”

“I will fight until the very last moment. So long as life remains within me, my steps shall never cease to be.”

A powerful fighting spirit surged once more within him. In that moment, it felt as though something within his body shattered.

In the next instant, an unprecedented power flooded his limbs, and he suddenly opened his eyes.

Golden radiance burst forth from his body. The surrounding ambient mana surged wildly toward him, rushing into him, mending his wounds, transforming his body.

Faintly, it carried with it an indescribable will.

That was the power of divine laws.

Along with it, his strength rose abruptly, reaching a height he had never attained before.

At this moment, Gando felt as though nothing was beyond his grasp.

Before the astonished gaze of the Demon King, Gando suddenly roared, broke free of his restraint, and struck his opponent away with a single punch.

Landing once more upon the ground, the howling sea wind scattered his whitening hair.

His robes were tattered, yet he stood upright.

Raising his staff again, light surged around him as his formidable aura continued to climb.

The deep wrinkles on his face remained, yet the sickly pallor had vanished, replaced by a vitality like that of someone who experienced rebirth.

Golden light spread around Gando, soon forming a warm and radiant domain.

Within that domain, one could feel a comforting warmth, along with a vigorous vitality and an unyielding will to fight.

Gando’s gaze was unwavering.

As he looked at the Demon King, his eyes burned with intent.

“Now, come again…”

“I too have become a Legendary expert.”

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